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Mental & Social Health Services Major

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Mental & Social Health Services

3,123 Bachelor's Degrees Annually
14,492 Master's Degrees Annually
#12 in Popularity
$54,150 Median Salary

Types of Degrees Mental & Social Health Services Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many mental and social health services graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level Number of Grads
Master’s Degree 14,517
Associate Degree 3,976
Bachelor’s Degree 3,123
Basic Certificate 3,077
Undergraduate Certificate 2,062
Graduate Certificate 2,009
Doctor’s Degree 289

What Mental & Social Health Services Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to mental health services were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for Mental Health Services Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

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  • Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
  • Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
  • English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  • Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
  • Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

Skills for Mental Health Services Majors

mental health services majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

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  • Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
  • Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
  • Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
  • Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
  • Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Abilities for Mental Health Services Majors

A major in mental health services will prepare for your careers in which the following abilities are important:

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  • Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
  • Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
  • Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.

What Can You Do With a Mental & Social Health Services Major?

People with a mental health services degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title Job Growth Rate Median Salary
Clergy 8.2% $48,990
Community Health Workers 17.9% $39,540
Counseling Psychologists 14.2% $76,990
Counselors 14.2% $42,130
Genetic Counselors 29.0% $80,370
Health Educators 14.6% $54,220
Healthcare Social Workers 20.1% $56,200
Marriage and Family Therapists 23.4% $50,090
Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers 19.4% $44,840
Mental Health Counselors 23.1% NA
Psychiatric Aides 5.6% $29,180
Psychiatric Technicians 5.9% $32,870
Psychology Professors 15.1% $76,710
Social Work Professors 9.4% $68,300
Substance Abuse and Behavioral Disorder Counselors 23.2% NA

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Mental & Social Health Services?

3,123 Bachelor's Degrees Annually
84% Percent Women
40% Percent Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
This is one of the most frequently chosen healthcare majors. It is the 12th most popular in the country with 3,123 students graduating with a bachelor’s in mental health services in 2021. This major is dominated by women with about 84% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of mental health services majors is as follows:

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Race/Ethnicity Number of Grads
Asian 94
Black or African American 519
Hispanic or Latino 457
White 1,735
International Students 24
Other Races/Ethnicities 294

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Mental Health Services, too. About 0.8% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

  • Canada
  • China
  • Saudi Arabia
  • India
  • South Korea

How Much Do Mental & Social Health Services Majors Make?

Bachelor’s Degree Starting Salary

Data from the U.S. Department of Education shows that mental and social health services students who graduated in 2017-2019 with a bachelor’s degree made a median starting salary of $32,530 per year. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $31,458 (25th percentile) and $36,032 (75th percentile).

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It’s important to note that just because the people reporting these salaries have a degree in mental health services, it does not mean that they are working in a job related to their degree.

Salaries According to BLS

Mental Health Services majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $47,740 to $77,520 (25th to 75th percentile). This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Median Salary for a Mental & Social Health Services Major  ( 47740 to 77520 )
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250K
Median Salary for a High School Graduate  ( 30000 to 57900 )
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250K
Median Salary for a Bachelor's Degree Holder  ( 45600 to 99000 )
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Median Salary for an Advanced Degree Holder  ( 55600 to 125400 )
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250K

Some careers associated with mental health services require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

Find out what the typical degree level is for mental health services careers below.

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Education Level Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma 0.1%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED) 9.0%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production) 0.9%
Some College Courses 2.3%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree) 6.7%
Bachelor’s Degree 14.4%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master. 2.2%
Master’s Degree 42.6%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level. 4.1%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession. 2.3%
Doctoral Degree 10.1%
Post-Doctoral Training 5.6%

Online Mental & Social Health Services Programs

In the 2020-2021 academic year, 962 schools offered some type of mental and social health services program. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level Colleges Offering Programs Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year) 0 0
Certificate (1-2 years) 241 24
Certificate (2-4 Years) 4 0
Associate’s Degree 410 41
Bachelor’s Degree 146 45
Post-Baccalaureate 0 0
Master’s Degree 550 76
Post-Master’s 92 0
Doctor’s Degree (Research) 52 11
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice) 14 0
Doctor’s Degree (Other) 0 0

Is a Degree in Mental & Social Health Services Worth It?

The median salary for a mental health services grad is $54,150 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 36% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $285,000 after 20 years!

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You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to mental health services.

Major Number of Grads
Nursing 322,592
Health & Medical Administrative Services 89,359
Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services 84,492
Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants 84,274
Allied Health Professions 82,308
Public Health 40,596
Health Sciences & Services 35,945
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions 29,833
Medicine 28,629
Dental Support Services 26,399
Communication Sciences 22,298
Pharmacy/Pharmaceutical Sciences 20,393
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science 18,901
Somatic Bodywork & Therapeutic Services 10,751
Health/Medical Prep Programs 9,210
Other Health Professions 7,984
Dentistry 6,770
Dietetics & Clinical Nutrition Services 6,158
Bioethics/Medical Ethics 5,115
Alternative Medicine & Systems 3,564
Chiropractic 2,658
Health Aids/Attendants/Orderlies 2,374
Medical Illustration & Informatics 2,089
Optometry 1,822
Advanced Dentistry & Oral Sciences 1,775
Ophthalmic & Optometric Support Services 960
Medical Science 909
Movement & Mind-Body Therapies 294
Alternative Medical Support Services 227
Energy & Biologically Based Therapies 68

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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